Neill Blomkamp first hit the radar of most filmgoers with his debut writing and directing effort District 9. The blend of sci-fi and social themes was elegant and undeniably smart and emotionally charged. Blomkamp would also go on to release the less well-received movies Elysium and Chappie. (Confession: I really loved Chappie.)

Blomkamp has now returned to his first directorial love: short films. Though they still contain the same elements that have come to define him as a writer and director, these shorts are created outside the confines of large Hollywood studios and allow for more envelope pushing. Blomkamp even has a studio that he’s founded to release these short films, which he named Oats Studio.

The idea is to release the films through Steam and then also offer additional content/DLC to fans. This way Blomkamp’s creative shorts can be changed, remixed, refocused, or whatever sort of collaboration evolves from the direct fan-to-director relationship. Blomkamp has likened the experiment to Joseph Gordon Levitt’s collaborative HitRecordJoe.

Oats Studios makes experimental short films - a testing ground for ideas and creativity. Leading to full scale feature films based on ideas created here. If you like what you see, get behind us. Check out our Oats Studios - Volume 1 Assets page to purchase additional content. - Steam

Blomkamp’s first sci-fi short is titled Rakka and stars Sigourney Weaver as the leader of a group of humans battling alien invaders.

The second short film, Firebase, is set during the Vietnam War. It follows a soldier encountering insanity and a River God that can raise the dead.